Wearables Ventilated Wig Experiments (formerly FIRE WIG REDUX) - 03/21/2022 update

FOR ORGANIZATION PURPOSES, I AM GOING TO EXPAND THIS PROJECT JOURNAL TO INCLUDE ALL THE WIGS I'VE MADE (OR AM MAKING) USING THIS METHOD​

To give a short background, it all began with this wig (made by following this tutorial):

Liquid Fire 01 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr​

I documented the project in its latter stages in this original DoA post, where I also noted some of the problems I encountered. But for the sake of this project introduction, I will list them down again, as well as add a few more points for improvement I felt should be addressed:

• The glue used. The original tutorial listed polyurethane-based glue, but bad me used washable fabric glue instead (specifically Beacon's Gem-Tac). Sure, it ended up being washable. But it didn't dry clear, and even worse, didn't lose its stickiness even after weeks (nay, til now). The wig glue took off some of my girl's faceup with it, and even melted when my dolls were on transport to our new home, causing Adhara to have tissue dandruff for a while until I managed to get them off.
• I went overboard on the rooting. I was so worried that the hair would come out really thin, I rooted them extremely densely. One could hardly see the scalp anymore, which ought to have been one of the perks of this wigmaking method.
• The front of the wig isn't as natural-looking as I would have liked. The original tutorial required the use of a thin weft to finish the front of the wig. I admit I made the weft too thick, resulting in that dreaded wig gap. Buuuuut what if I totally ditched the weft instead? Some of Loongsoul's recent doll promo photos don't seem to mind the roots showing, if you know what I mean.

I initially tried to make a new wig using the old method, but I ran into glue issues. All the readily available alternative glues I tested didn't do a good job holding the threaded hairs on to the wig cap, and so I decided ultimately to ditch the knot-less method. Time to just ventilate the hairs for real.

Spoiler: This section is FAILED

TESTS FOR SILICONE GLUE - DONE!
[x] Make trial wigcap using new glue.
[x] Thread a small patch of hair on wigcap.
[x] Test the strength of the glue fixing the hairs to the wigcap.

Result summary: while initial results were promising, there were issues further on in the project (silicone glue seems to not be ideal in "fixing" heat-resistant synethetic hair to the wigcap -- not sure if this applies to natural fibers like alpaca or soy).

ACTUAL PROJECT PROGRESS
[x] Make wigcaps.
[ ] THREAD, THREAD, THREAD THE HAIRS. ON HOLD.
[ ] Additional fittings and adjustments.

The first successful recipient of the new method was my hybrid Iplehouse Scarlet, and it's the progress of her wig that's extensively documented in this project journal. However, she's not the only one of my dolls that will be using a fully-ventilated wig. Just so I won't have to make a ton of separate threads for each of them, I will be collating the results here.

1. Adhara DORMANT (Iplehouse Scarlet on IMPLdoll Starwoman MGB)
2. Kokichi (LoongSoul ZhuZhao)
3. Adhara WAR (Fantasia Doll Vivian on IMPLdoll Starwoman MGB) TAKE #2
4. Okaasan-hime (Elva2 by Olga Reingard)
5. Okuni (Momo Studio Lulu)
6. Guórén (Granado Michael on IMPLdoll Idolman FGB)
7. Adhara (both IH Scarlet and FD Vivian Forms) TAKE #3
8. Kokichi (LoongSoul ZhuZhao) TAKE #2
9. Kokiden (SartoriaJ Yvonne hybrid)

TLDR; the aforementioned fire wig, fully revamped:

Adhara Afire 04 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr​

 

I figured that if I wanted the roots to be visible on the hairline (in a sense, really close to an actual lace wig), it would be great if the wigcap itself isn't so thick. This meant only one layer of the tulle fabric. After my aforementioned bad experience with Gem-Tac, I switched to a silicone-based sealant glue that takes seven whopping days to cure, but advertises itself as water- and temperature-resistant under normal use. For the glue test, I used one of my spare Impldoll neck donuts, wrapped in cling wrap and a single layer of tulle.


00 - Glue Testing by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I admit I was bad and waited only about four days before I decided to check out if the results were any good. Well, even at four days, it was even better than I expected. The cling wrap peeled off the resulting wig cap really easily, but it retained its shape with a good degree of flexibility.


01 - Glue Test DRIED 1 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I just made myself a silicone-tulle wigcap (for a neck donut). :P It also ain't too fragile despite the transparency, but will it hold to threading hairs?


02 - Glue Test DRIED 2 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

So far so good. It's quite creepy, honestly. It does look like I scalped someone. @_@


03 - Rooting Test 1 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


03 - Rooting Test 2 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I applied a layer of the same silicone glue to "fix" the hair patches to the inside of the test cap, but now I'd have to wait seven days again to see how strong the results will be (and this time, I swear to wait the actual seven days!).

But since the glue has already proven itself to be good wig cap material, I went ahead and gave Adhara's heads the cling wrap + tulle + glue treatment.


04 - Two Faces of Adhara (and Cookie) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

Results to be posted a week from now!

 

Here goes the update! Thank you to everyone who has commented.

I could call the test hair patch a success -- if well-soaked in glue, the threaded hairs were reasonably attached to the scalp. I emphasize the reasonably, because if you still apply an excessive amount of force, the hair will either break or get pulled out. Then again, this shouldn't be an issue. There's no such thing as an indestructible, 100% no-shed wig, but it should still work under normal use. Oh, and the glue was water- and temperature-resistant, indeed. I dabbed boiling water on the test patch to make this part:


05 - Rooting Test 3 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

What about the actual wigcaps, though? One thing I realized that's challenging about glues that dry translucent or clear was it's easy to miss some spots. It's not too obvious in this photo, but there were some small parts in the wigcaps that needed to be filled in with more glue. Thankfully though, the previous glue treatment had strengthened the netting enough for threading.


06 - Wigcap Holes by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I still have tons of heat-resistant Dollmore fibers left over from my first wigmaking attempt, but quite a lot of the hairs were all wrinkly-looking because of improper storage. However, a quick pour of boiling water was all it took to straighten them out again. As per the original tutorial, I thread 3 hairs at a time -- 2 hairs of 1 color, and 1 hair of another color. For the dark parts of Adhara's hair, it's a combo of nearly-black and a slightly lighter brown. The tutorial wasn't joking when it said it adds to the realism.


07 - Threading by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

The silicone glue I was using to fix the hair to the wigcap was already quite dry after a day despite a 7-day curing time on the label. It looks like I could still continue rooting other sections as long as I give the glue patches 24 hours to rest after application, yay! Iplehouse Scarlet's wig gets priority because she still has no faceup, and I'd prefer to send her to the faceup artist with the completed wig for eyebrow-painting aid.

Since we're already on the subject of glue, here's a partial list of what was verified to work and what you should not use:

THE NON-COMPREHENSIVE WIG GLUE TEST LIST (updated 4-25-2019)
​

USABLE GLUES:

1. Moment-Crystal by Henkel
   - Mentioned by the original tutorial, a transparent polyurethane-based glue
2. Aleene's Liquid Fusion
   - Thank you @Spuggey for sharing this!
   - Urethane-based, takes about a day to cure, verified to be temperature-resistant and washable (holds up against boiling water)

GOOD FOR WIGCAPS, BUT SO-SO RESULTS FOR THE NO-KNOTS THREADING METHOD:

1. Liquitex Varnish
   - Tested by @iamkathybrown
   - Good for wigcaps, but so-so results for fixing hair patches
2. Pioneer Mighty Seal All-purpose Silicone Sealant
   - One of the glues used for this project journal
   - Silicone-based, takes 7 days to fully cure (but in small amounts is dry enough after 24 hours), temperature- and water-resistant, results have the feel and flexibility of KIPS and BJD silicone wigcaps. Works great for wigcap material (adheres to tulle well), but encountered mixed results for fixing synthetic heat-resistant fibers. Needs further testing for natural fibers like alpaca or soy.
3. B-7000 (fabric glue)
   - One of the glues used for this project journal
   - Dries non-sticky but with a slight yellow tint, causes tulle to attach to cling wrap (but double-wrapping resin in cling wrap provides enough protection), temperature-resistant up to 150 °F/66 °C (but withstands quick pours of boiling water well)
   - UPDATE/CAVEAT: this glue yellows really badly. Like, think of a doll that turned banana yellow. I don't think I will ever be using this again.

USE THESE GLUES AT YOUR OWN RISK:

1. Beacon's Gem-Tac
   - Glue used in my first attempt
   - Did not dry clear (I ended up with a fleshy yellow color), stays tacky indefinitely (it WILL take your doll's faceup with it, cling wrap, MSC, and all), washable but melts under high temperatures
2. Elmer's White Craft Glue
   - Made a trial wigcap with this before
   - Not water-resistant, IIRC; not advisable for a restylable wig

 

Just checking in for some threading progress as well as to answer some questions!

Threading is going well. In the original wig, I started from the top of the head to the edges. This time, I decided to try it the other way around. Well, Iplehouse Scarlet's, at least. Fantasia Doll Vivian's wig (the "true" redo in this project journal) was made entirely of fiery colors at the back, and I wanted to establish the boundary first and foremost. Cue the monk look:


08 - Threading Progress 1 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

Note that by "edges", I meant about 1cm from the actual edges. Both the original tutorial and my own personal experience warned that I'd need the allowance for the final fitting stages. (The layer of glue inside the cap would cause some shrinkage!) I was also more careful with maintaining the quality of the fibers this time around. As you can see from the left wig, things could look insanely cluttered pretty fast. I would give the hairs a good treatment with boiling water after a glue patch has dried, rather than waiting until the end result to do all the de-tangling and straightening. The wig on the right shows how it looks when sufficiently tamed -- it also helps "train" the hairs to fall in the correct direction.

@iamkathybrown I was worried that the wigcap would be too flimsy, but I figured that since I'd have to coat the inside with glue anyway (thickening the cap), the end result will still be fine. And so far, it holds on to the doll's head quite well! As far as I can see, as long as the tulle was no longer stretchy, you're good. I'll add your feedback on Liquitex Varnish in the glue list though!

@HeyJude The density was not a matter of how many hairs were used per threading (I still used 3 in the original take), but how close the punches were to each other. I threaded the hairs too close to one another, which you can say had the same effect as using at least 5 hairs per bunch.

 

Here's another for the weekly progress report.

I managed to finish threading the fire-colored strands for Iplehouse Scarlet's wig. Her wig doesn't nearly require as much fiery hair as Fantasia Doll Vivian's, because it's meant to only be a thin line on either side of the head. The rest of it is going to be dark strands. Here's how it looks before I thread more black/brown hair above and around it:


09 - Fire Strands (IH Scarlet) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

As for Fantasia Doll Vivian, they're only red strands so far. There's still a long way to go before I totally fill in the lower back and sides with the flame colors that were already her trademark. At least it's starting to look familiar!


10 - Fire Strands Beginning (Fantasia Vivian) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

As for your question, @Avis Cantus, I haven't used polyurethane-based glue (not in this take, and neither in my first version). Hence, I can't tell you if Gorilla Glue will behave in any way like the glues I've used. However, I've used popsicle sticks to spread the adhesives because I don't want to risk ruining perfectly good brushes.

 

Rooting all the hairs really is the most tedious part of any project like this, and it will make or break whether or not you can carry on. I don't have anything too drastic to report, but I'm sure any progress picture would be good!

The fire colors IH Scarlet's wig are sloooowly but surely being hidden under more black strands. The goal of the end result is you won't easily know that they're there unless you dig into the locks.


11 - Fire Strands 2 (IH Scarlet) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

Hand was pretty jittery here (hence the slight blur). Lines of orange are already starting to be mixed in with the red, in the case of Fantasia Doll Vivian's wig. I guess at this point, the differences between the two wigs are already quite evident.


12 - Fire Strands 2 (Fantasia Vivian) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

@Avis Cantus I just used a regular sewing needle, because I must have misplaced my beading needles. Nothing special there; it's the good sharp points I'm after.

 

I missed a week of updates, sorry 'bout that! But that doesn't mean I haven't been punching hairs into the wigcap. The fire-colored strands for both wigs have been, for the most part, threaded. At least dark strands are way easier on the eyes than yellow, which is quite a pain to check on the scalp if they're punched in properly.


13 - Monk Look (Fantasia Vivian) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


14 - Monk Look (IH Scarlet) by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

While the results look pretty good at this stage, I'd have to give a new caveat on silicone glue: it seems to have a difficult time holding on to synthetic fibers. It melds fine with tulle (hence the wigcaps), but I've been observing that some hairs have been easy to pull in and out of the scalp despite being under a layer of silicone glue. Perhaps because silicone doesn't adhere to plastic-y stuff well? (Not really sure -- needs more testing if it works better for natural fibers like alpaca or soy.) In Adhara's case, I could still forgive it because gravity works to the advantage of her long hair; all that weight discourages strands from slipping out easily. However, this would be bad news for shorter wigs.

I've ordered a 3rd fabric glue for testing, and it should arrive in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, Aleene's products are difficult to find where I live, so I'd have to hope that this 3rd glue would be like how Liquid Fusion is reported to behave. Heh, at this rate I'd be finishing off all my Dollmore hair stash just trying to find the holy grail of locally available glues.

(Oh, and I'd just like to point out that where my current glues stand, I still prefer silicone by a mile over Beacon's Gem Tac. At least silicone doesn't stick to a doll's faceup!)

 

CAVEAT (POSTED ON 10/26/2020): B-7000 does not age well, and turns a really ugly yellow color. Do not use it unless you want your doll's scalp to look like it has a bad case of greening.

THIS POST MARKS A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN THIS PROJECT JOURNAL, AS YOU WILL SEE LATER.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I've discovered that silicone glue has mixed results when fixing hair patches to the wigcap. Letting it to rest for seven days improved the results slightly, but individual hairs could still be pulled out. Good news is, I obtained a new glue, that shady-sounding B-7000. Will it be any good, though? Anyhow, no use crying over so-so wig attempts -- let's get the testing down the road!


15 - B7000 Glue Test by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

(Mad fans, huh?)

I definitely wasn't a "mad fan" at first. For some reason, the stock of glue that arrived to me initially came out green, possibly as a result of rust. (It was supposed to be clear.) You can definitely see some green hues in the photo above. Thankfully, I was able to squeeze out most of the horrid green-tinged glue, and the rest came out reasonably clear.

For the results:

• Feasibility as wigcap material - The tulle stuck to the cling wrap underneath, but didn't permeate it as badly as Beacon's Gem-Tac. Double-wrapping a doll head in cling wrap seemed to suffice in protecting resin. Tulle stuck to the first layer, but the second cling wrap underneath was able to be detached completely.
  
  
• Dried glue color - Glue didn't dry 100% clear; there was still a slight shade of yellow. However, it's surprisingly still more transparent than 1 layer of silicone glue (see the comparison below -- B7000 on the right).
  
  
  17 - Silicone versus B7k by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr
  
  
• Wigcap feel - Results were stiffer than silicone; definitely falls under the hard wigcap category, like with Beacon's Gem Tac. BUT, unlike that glue, B-7000 it didn't stay sticky. In fact, the results were quite the reverse: the dried glue had little traction on the resin, which is good news for preserving faceups, but bad news if you want the wigcap to not slip off the doll's head.
  
  
• Hair patch test - ALAS, just like silicone, it seems to have mixed results fixing synthetic heat-resistant fibers to the wigcap.
  
  
• Temperature test - B-7000 claims to withstand temps up to 150 °F/66 °C. Not as heat-resistant as industrial-grade as silicone, but still survives a quick pour of boiling water. Since I don't intend to soak the entire wig in boiling water for long periods of time, I still call this a success.

The verdict?

I won't say I'm a "mad fan" at this point, but the results were better than expected. My biggest issue was that it's just the same as silicone when fixing hair patches, so I made the decision to halt progress on the existing two wigs and try ventilating through a hard wigcap for real.


16 - Full Ventilation Beginnings by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I made a second B-7000 wigcap with a double-layered protection of cling wrap over IH Scarlet's head (definitely not taking any chances there). Note that I still don't have a ventilating hook at this point (it's still shipping), so all the knots in the photo were made by backtracking a regular needle and pulling hair through the hook of my finger. It's hard to explain and tedious to do, but it can be done if you really are in a pinch. Even with such limited progress, I already have these things to point out:

• Tulle tends to get distorted in hard wigcaps -- make sure you take this into account when ventilating, to get even results. You may need to skip holes especially at the back, where distortion seems to be worst.
• DIRECTIONALITY, DIRECTIONALITY, DIRECTIONALITY. If you've made ventilated wigs before, you'll see why this is a big deal. The direction of your knot will determine where the hair will fall. While I plan to knot the hairs in a uniform direction near the hairline, I am utilizing cross-knots at other sections to even out the fall of the hair and make it look more organic. I will most likely expand on the direction of the knots as I progress on the wig, so stay tuned.

 

I totally missed posting progress on this project, but it is far from abandoned!

I am finally reaching the top parts of the wig, whew. I've also begun ventilating the hairs surrounding the front hairline. Because I still have yet to fully master fitting a hard wig cap to a doll's head, there was a teeny bit of gapping. Still, this was a HUGE improvement over the original fire wig, which doesn't have as natural a hairline because it was finished with a weft at the front.

Also, some notes:

• The advantage of using ventilating knots to attach the hairs meant I could forego the thin layer of glue inside the wig cap. The wig so far has gone through quite a lot of boil-perming and combing, and yet has shed the least of all the wigs I own/made.
• Unfortunately, I wasn't quite able to make the ventilating hook work through the hard wig cap (cling wrap + tulle + fabric glue layers), so I had continue my improvised needle method to make the knots.

18 - Defined Hairline by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

Let me see... ventilating without a hook is definitely slower than the knot-less method, but the trade-off is you could skip the glue inside the headcap if the knots were done correctly. Regarding fullness though, I would think that ventilating results in fuller patches of hair, because I thread two strands at a time. Doubled over, this results in knots with four strands sticking out -- unlike in the old method where each "hair" comprises of three strands. I'm not sure if I explained that one correctly, if you're still confused do let me know!

 

Oh my gosh, after months of troubleshooting, re-doing, ventilating, cursing, and crying, the wig is finally looking like how I wanted it to look. And nope, IT AIN'T DONE YET -- you can see glimpses of the huge bald patch at the back of her head. Also, remember the gapping issue I mentioned during the last update? It was critical that I minimize it as much as I could to make most of the illusion that the hairs are growing out of the doll's head. I managed to resolve it for the most part by making a small dart at the back of the wig cap (even though I'm using a hard wig cap, it's still flexible and thin enough to allow edits such as that).

Funnily enough, my major issue now is the reverse of the original fire hair: the wig is very slippery on the doll's head, and will most likely need some velcro to stay on. At least scratched eyebrows seem to be the least of my problems now!


19 - Getting There by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

Finally, here it is: the fruits of so much labor for the past several months. Like I mentioned in the last update, the wig needed some kind of adhesive to avoid the doll becoming suddenly bald, so velcro it is. In this photo, you can see the amount of ventilating (as well as the direction of the ventilation) that went into the wig, as well as some of the wigcap adjustments made in the middle of the ventilating so as to make the cap fit better. Funnily enough, the magnets in my IH Scarlet head are really weak compared to the velcro. On certain hairstyles (more on that later), the headcap would want to detach from the rest of the head because the magnetic pull couldn't hold the weight of the updo in place.


20 - Velcro by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I guess I never showed how long the wig really was. (Please excuse the kitty, she loves doll photoshoots to a fault.)


21 - Full Length by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

From the back:


22 - Back by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I set the parting for this wig on a particular section, but with some patience, it could be transferred to anywhere on the scalp. It could even be zigzagged, but that ain't the character's peg, so I kept it in a neat line. Note that the wig still tends to gap a little in the sideburns area (see the lower right photo), but I am quite happy with the look over-all.


23 - Parting Demos by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

Now for the fun part, playing with the hairstyle itself! I didn't have any hairstyling gel or what, so I apologize for all the loose hairs.

Guórén: So that means you could already wear that two-piece Leia costume?
Adhara: But she wasn't wearing those cinnamon rolls with that outfit!


24 - Mini Leia Buns by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


25 - Tousled Updo by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

Remember what I said earlier about the headcap magnets being weak? Well, turns out that in certain top-heavy hairstyles like high ponytails, the attractive power of the velcro far outdoes the attractive power of the magnets, and tends to result in the headcap falling away. That's a different non-wig problem though, so over-all the new wig was still a success. The IH Scarlet modeling the wig will be sent off to the faceup artist this weekend, and I will most likely request some baby hair "sideburns" (like this) to be painted on so as to enhance the effect.

So where to go from here? Well, Adhara still has her "war" head, which uses the original take of the fire wig, sticky faceup-ruining glue and all. Now that I know the ventilation knots could still be accomplished on a semi-hard wigcap, I have to really redo that one. I'll definitely post again once Scarlet's face is no longer blank. Thanks to those who followed the progress of this particular take, and I'll keep checking in here to answer questions should they arise.

 

Just an itty-bitty, FYI update! Now that Scarlet is back from the faceup artist, blushed to match her body, I took some photos to show how the wig now looks on her. Definitely better than I remembered when the mismatch was BAD.


08 - Big Reveal by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


09 - Awkward Silence by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

I'm reviving this thread to include every single one of my dolls' wigs that I have made (or will be making) using this this method, both for organization purposes and to note any improvements that have been made per take.

I just finished my LS ZhuZhao's own ventilated wig, and his is the first that shows the hairline. It's heavily inspired by his promo pics, but obviously without the widow's peak, and fully restylable. His wig actually took longer to make because his cranium is HUGE compared to Iplehouse Scarlet's. I also revised my workflow a bit where the edges are concerned. The hairs near the edges are rooted less closely to each other than the rest of the wig, to help "fade in" the wig to the rest of the face.


Wig Compilation - Kokichi by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

On a side note, I guess I've never properly discussed the fibers I use for my wigs. I am very partial to Dollmore's heat-resistant packs because their thickness is very to-scale and doesn't have that "wiggy" shininess that some artificial fibers have. Also, despite the above wig (and the black sections of my IH Scarlet's wig) looking like it's just made of one color, it's actually a hand-blended combo of dark brown and black. The difference is barely noticeable in photos, but in real life, it helps simulate how natural human hair is not the same color all throughout.

EDIT:
Here's a photo of the same doll with the same wig, except he finally has a faceup:


Go Strategy Planning 01 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

Hi! I just use a regular sewing needle (any needle with a sharp point will do). I tried using an actual ventilating tool, but I found that the hook could barely go through a wigcap that has been hardened with glue.

 

Well! Remember the wig that started it all?


12 - Swept Up 5 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I began this thread with every intention to redo said wig, but other dolls kept being bumped higher on the priority list. However, I finally got back to wigmaking nearly two months ago. This is the fastest ventilated wig I've made so far (both due to the size of the doll's cranium and better hang of the method). Compared to the wig I made for IH Scarlet, the sections close to the edge were ventilated less densely. I was really going for a thinned out hairline look, to make up for how I have yet to properly implement baby hairs.


Fire in Her Hair 02 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

The wigcap still needs some photo editing help to blend the boundary to the doll, but under natural light, it's not too bad.


Before and after PS by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

EDIT:
I am also putting this here as a note for future reference. My current tried-and-tested order for ventilating hairs is to start from the back, then move to the front. I cannot stress how important it is for the hairline to be made just right, and leaving it for last would help ensure that it does not come out too high or too low. Even a glue-hardened wig cap can undergo some changes due to all the handling during ventilation, and the hairline would have to be adjusted accordingly to take this into account.

 

You can say I underwent a wigmaking spree as a coping mechanism for virus-related lockdowns. Apart from the revised fire wig featured in the previous post, I was able to complete two more (one in the heels of the other), and each was completed in less than a month.

This one wasn't as good-looking as my other takes because the character has alopecia. She is veiled in this pic, but the second slide on this IG post just shows how thin it looks on the scalp. I finally ran out of B-7000 glue as I was redoing the fire wig, so I was experimenting with other glues at this point. The wig below uses Elmer's wood glue, which dries a tan color and has a semi-hard wigcap consistency. The package says it's water- and temperature-resistant, but it fogged when I applied newly boiled water to it. D'oh! The wig was alright after I let it dry, but don't use it if you intend to apply boiling temperatures to your wig regularly.


Wisps of Black by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

The next one, on the other hand, uses silicone glue once again. Like in my previous foray into silicone-based sealant glues, some hairs could still be pulled out if using a lot of force (with the hair becoming unhappily wrinkled afterwards). But really, would I intentionally pull out hairs from the wig under regular use? Also, this was the first time I made a ventilated wig for a paper-white skin doll. Wood glue, as previously mentioned, dries a tan color, and the tanned scalp simply looked AWFUL on her when I tried it. Despite silicone glue's disadvantages, it is still by far the best in making the doll's actual resin color to show through the scalp. Furthermore, it behaves like a typical silicone cap, with minimal slippage and faceup damage.

As you may have noticed, I normally ventilate in the upwards direction from the hairline to help show off the roots, but I reversed the direction for this girl. One thing that differentiates Okuni's character from Adhara is she dang loves to dress and accessorize her hair. If she was living in the modern era, she will have a YouTube channel featuring a ton of hairstyling tutorials. She definitely needs more clip-on hairpieces to pull off her elaborate hairstyles, but that would be a project for another day.


Okuni Wig Collage by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

EDIT:

Here's the same wig from above on the same doll, except she finally has a faceup.


Okuni Unmasked 02 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

These are progress shots as opposed to the finished product. My Granado Michael is probably the one of my dolls that I am dreading the most with regards to wigmaking, despite him being the oldest of the crew still in the current incarnation. As those who have owned the older Granado sculpts can attest, these guys could be very picky with wigs, because their noggins are petite for their size. Furthermore, I was very afraid of ruining my Michael's faceup, owing to the fact that his faceup artist is overseas and touching up ruined patches will cost me a lot.

Anyhow, using silicone-based glue proved to be a good decision where preserving his faceup was concerned, to my relief. Even though I am ventilating once again in the downwards direction (similar to the previous take, with Okuni, my Momo Studio Lulu), there is one crucial difference: the hairs radiate outward from the crown in a spiral. I had observed that ventilating in an outwards straight direction causes what I call the "Sadako syndrome", wherein the wig naturally just wants to fall flat over the face. Ventilating in a spiral helps to remedy this, and also mimics the natural whorl on human hair growth.


More Wig Progress by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

@ezrablake I haven't counted the exact hours yet, but for petite SD heads (or large MSD heads), I've been able to complete a wig in a month of working on it on a near-daily basis for maybe three or four hours per day. This method could definitely be adapted for just a lace-front wig, I just hadn't tried it since I want my dolls' wigs to be 100% rooted. ^_^

 

I finished Guórén's wig just yesterday. I don't have a picture of him modeling the final result under natural light yet, so for now here's a heavily filtered pic showing just how long his hair really is. (Will update this post with a better photo when I get it.) The wig initially tended to slip easily from the head owing to the number of threaded hairs "breaking" the traction of the silicone-based wigcap. Applying a thin layer of more silicone sealant under the wigcap fixes this. It also helped to fit the wig better on the head.


Darkened Demeanor 02 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

While I am over-all happy with the result, I have to reiterate this caveat with regards to silicone sealant: while it dries translucent, it's nowhere near as translucent as, say, plain white Elmer's craft glue. Artificial light especially makes the dried sealant look a light gray, which would probably not pose issues for paper-white resin, but would be really obvious on the dark tanned ones.

Also, a minor note of interest: his wig uses three different types of grays, and one white color. While I got the white and one light gray from my go-to supplier (Dollmore), the dark gray and another variant of light gray was obtained by dismantling two cheap heat-resistant hair extensions meant for human use. This was the first time I used non-Dollmore synthetic skeins, and thankfully, the experiment was a success!

EDIT (natural light photo):

Silver Lion 01 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

 

SURPRISE post! I know I've revised Adhara's fire wig already, but yours truly's OC self kept seeing flaws that needed to be addressed:

• Fire Wig #1 was too dense, but Fire Wig #2 was now a little too thin.
• B-7000 glue, which was used for Fire Wig #2, yellows really badly. Tan-skinned dolls (like my IH Scarlet) are quite forgiving of the ugly hue that resulted, but it simply looked awful on paler resins. This also means I'll be revising my LS ZhuZhao's wig in the future, because it was made using the same glue.
• The heart-shaped facial structure of Fantasia Doll Vivian (and IH Scarlet) does not benefit from an upwards-slicked direction of ventilation that exposes the forehead. Sideswept locks which softened her angular jawline suited her a lot better.

Furthermore, having further refined my method with Okuni's and Guórén's wigs, I was more than excited to have another go with the fire wig. Maybe like the porridge bowls in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," the third time's the charm?


Smoke and Fire by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

It's Adhara's dormant version modeling the wig as opposed to her warpaint version, but the wig was molded on Fantasia Doll Vivian's noggin. I was surprised that IH Scarlet could wear the wig at all, because she's a touch larger than FD Vivian. Turns out she rocks the colors just as well (blame it on her eyes). By using silicone sealant on the wigcap and ventilating the hairs in an outwards-spiral from the crown, I was able to address the aforementioned issues with Fire Wig #2.

I was a bit worried that the translucency of silicone sealant would make the wigcap too pale on her tanned skin. Thankfully, it wasn't too problematic as long as I didn't apply it too thickly on the front (which coincidentally, was a mistake I made with Guórén's wig). I didn't even have to use Photoshop to blend the boundary of the wigcap with the rest of the face, because the result was a lot more subtle than what I achieved using B-7000. At this point, I can say I'm really happy with how Adhara's fire hair came out, and my other dolls can finally have my undivided attention where their own projects are concerned.

 

I mentioned in my previous post that I had yellowing problems with B-7000. This is a big issue with my LS ZhuZhao's wig, because I prefer to thread his hair upwards from the scalp. The thin border of glue-soaked fabric showing at the front edge of the wig looked an awful yellow at this point. Since I wanted to give him gray/white hair patches anyway, I used it as an excuse to do his wig over, using a different glue. It's not obvious on the photos, but there's a huge section on his nape that's grayed, similar to how his mother Adhara had fire-colored strands on the same section.


Shinobue by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr


Shinobue FRONT by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

I posted a small WIP on IG showing how the wig could be parted anywhere, but he ended up rocking the simple "thrown back" look that I decided to leave the styling as is. It's also the nature of the beast that slicked-back hair wigs would need some Photoshop help to seamlessly blend it with the doll (unless the lace fabric is a near-100% match to the doll's skintone). Thankfully, silicone glue is transparent enough such that under diffused lighting, it could get away with no editing at all. For reference, this is how his old wig looked.

 

I actually made another wig before I finally hit a wigmaking burnout and would probably not want to make another for some time. It's for my hybrid SartoriaJ Yvonne, made using pretty much the same method that I utilized for Adhara's fire wig (ventilated downwards, in an outward spiral from the crown).

Modded Shoulders by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr
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Her character is the older fraternal twin of my LoongSoul Zhuzhao, and their hair colors were meant to be a reverse of each other (black where his is gray/white, and vice versa). She was actually meant to be a tanned doll, but because of a lackluster resin matching output from the company manufacturing her body, I was forced to have her head blushed to normal yellow. It was a bit of a boon where the wig was concerned. Take into consideration that if the lace you use does not match the resin color of the doll it was meant for, the difference may be too obvious for your liking. The second image in this post on my IG pretty much shows how the pale tulle stands out against the original tan of the head.

Great Luck and Great Beautiful Court by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr
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@Eriawendollyn If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. There may be other doll owners who have the same questions as you do, and they would benefit from the discussion!

 

@Eriawendollyn Hmmm, I am not sure I follow. Do you mean that you already have the hairs ventilated on the lace, then you will attach it to a silicone wig cap? Or you will attempt to stick the lace to the silicone wig cap first and then ventilate through it? If it's the second, I do not advise it. All those tiny holes will just compromise the structural integrity of the wig cap. Not to mention you cannot just use any kind of glue when attempting to bond silicone pieces together. You can read more about it in this thread.

EDIT:
I do not have real wig lace for human-use ventilated wigs. I use regular tulle, which I stiffened with glue to be usable for this wigmaking method because otherwise it's too stretchy for the purpose.

 

EDITED: Fixed some errors because I myself am having difficulty with explaining things, d'oh!

Hi @StellaMarigold! How do I explain it... depending on the doll, I either start ventilating at the top OR near the edges. If I wanted the doll's hair to have minimal pouf and no visible hairline (Adhara's final wig was of that sample, as well as all the predominantly gray-colored wigs of my other dolls), I root from the edge, spiraling towards the center. On the other hand, if I wanted a clear hairline and more pouf, like the wig of my LoongSoul ZhuZhao, I tend to ventilate from the center-outwards to force the hairs up and away from the face. The latter pretty much works in the same principle as a lot of the wigs in LoongSoul's promo photos lately (like this).

That aside though, you're quite right with the lower "circles" overlapping when the spiral is formed. And no, so far I haven't had a problem with showing the "scalp" whenever I need to part the wig. The only doll I have that has a center part doesn't have a spirally-threaded wig, so once again, here below is my girl with the fire wig. As you can see, it's not as neat as, say, some wigs with fixed parts, but the part is there, and you can see the scalp. When making a part, I part the wig similarly to how I do it with my own hair. If you're really concerned with making the part neat-looking for your wig though, you can always ventilate the front of the wig in just one straight direction (upwards or downwards, depending on if you want the roots to show), while the rest of it remains a spiral.


Abaniko 01 by Yela Gatchalian-David, on Flickr

With regards to the glue, yes it stinks. Literally. It smells strongly of vinegar as it cures -- I have to make sure my workstation is ventilated and my dolls well-protected while I wait for the fumes to go away. I've heard Aleene's Fabric Fusion makes a great substitute, being odorless and washable, to boot. Maybe you can check it out!

Sorry for the long explanation! If you need any further clarifications, just let me know.